Trying to Stay Gold
by mycookiegirl
Summary: Life isn't easy with two overprotective brothers, a guy who seems to not like you for no reason, three other guys who never leave you alone, and socs. Ponyboy's life isn't easy at all, but maybe he just needs to explore...if his brothers will let him.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
So this new story is an overprotective brother story – Ponyboy being the one that's protected ;) This story will mainly be based around suggestions, so if you think of something, tell me and it might be written! Hope you all enjoy the story :)**

Ponyboy Curtis, was…small. He was a lot smaller than all of the other kids in his grade…no, in his school in-fact. Being the youngest kid in the whole high school had its downfalls, but it was even worse when you're small anyway. Not to mention people never believed him when he told them his age was thirteen, or when people thought he was a little kid.

A group of socs were standing around, discussing girls, while Ponyboy stood waiting for Two-Bit. He didn't really like riding with Two-Bit; he drove too fast and his car smelt of tobacco and alcohol. Ponyboy smirked; how his big brothers would kill Two-Bit if Ponyboy touched even a drop of his alcohol. His smirk faded however, when he thought about what would happen when his brothers would turn to him. There'd be a lot of yelling for sure, and Ponyboy dreaded to think of what would happen after. Maybe they'd ground him for life, or ban him from TV until he grew up.

Wait…when would Darrel and Sodapop Curtis ever let their baby brother grow up? Ponyboy groaned.

"I'm telling you, chicks dig little brothers. All's you have to do is get Sam over here, and I guarantee you those broads will be running over to you like a dog to its bone," one of them explained to his friend; a senior in a madras shirt.

The senior rolled his eyes; being friends with freshmen was really annoying sometimes since they thought they understood everything going on with the seniors lives when they really didn't.

"Uh-huh, and my little brother would tell me to…" he went on to say some real foul cuss words that all of his friends laughed at. The other seniors only had little sisters and baby brothers (who really were babies), and the freshmen and sophomores had more older siblings than younger, except for one freshman who had a nine-year-old brother, but his brother was obedient so there was no problem with him.

Ponyboy sighed; school had finished almost twenty minutes ago and Two-Bit was still nowhere in sight. The youngest Curtis didn't understand why his brothers wouldn't just let him walk home; he knew the way and knew that if anything happened he'd just call them. Though last time he had ignored that rule he'd been in _a lot_ of trouble. Perhaps it was best to just wait a little longer.

But one of the socs spotted him and patted his buddy's shoulder. When the senior in madras looked at his friend, he was directed to Ponyboy, who was standing by a lamppost, kicking the ground.

"The chicks would go mad for him," the senior's friend said, pointing to a group of socy girls and then pointing back to Ponyboy. The senior raised his eyebrows, staring straight at Ponyboy.

The boy was dressed in a pair of overalls, and underneath he was wearing a blue shirt that had dark dots on it. His hair was as long as a greaser's, though there was no grease in his auburn hair. Then the soc remembered who the boy was: he'd seen him at the DX before – he hung out with greasers.

"He's a grease though," the soc sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. The socs stared at Ponyboy and noticed that his hair was quite long, however nobody would really be able to tell that he was a greaser; like he wasn't wearing a leather jacket or anything, and there was no grease in his hair.

"Nobody will notice," one of the socs reassured.

In a rush of boredom, Ponyboy turned around to see if any action was going on outside of school. There weren't many people left; just a group of girls and two groups of boys – one group socs, the other greasers. He considered heading over to the gang of greasers; he knew that none of them would say anything nasty to him, since they all knew Sodapop and Darry and knew that they'd be killed if they were to upset their baby brother, however his eyes stopped on the gang of socs. They were _all_ staring at him. All of them.

The boy turned around quickly, hoping if he looked away then they'd stop looking. But he could feel their eyes on him, and he didn't like it one bit. He hated it.

"Look, he's seen us now. Might as well just go over," Eddie, a sophomore said to his older friend. "What's the worst he's gonna do, James?"

"What do I even say?" James asked. " _Hey, wanna pretend to be my little brother? I just wanna get a date._ "

"Say that," another said. "I mean, it's the truth."

James sighed, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to go over to the kid, but he didn't want to look like a chicken in-front of his friends either. After a minute of inwardly debating with himself, he decided he'd go over to the kid.

"Ya'll are comin' with me," he mumbled, approaching the young boy. The others followed, smirking at their friend.

Ponyboy heard their footsteps and gulped. Damn, if he was just allowed to walk home…and where the heck was Two-Bit?! If he got beaten up, he'd blame his brothers as well as the rusty-haired greaser. His life just wasn't fair.

"Hey," James called, noticing the way Ponyboy stiffened. The boy turned around and faced all five socs. "We ain't gonna hurt ya or nothin'; I just need a favor is all."

"What kind of favor?" Ponyboy asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. He wanted to look intimidating, though whenever he did that he usually ended up getting laughed or cooed at. It was worth a shot though.

James bit his lip before answering. "I need you to pretend to be my little brother. Just for a few minutes, I promise. There's this girl I like, and well-"

"All chicks dig little brothers," Ponyboy smirked, nodding his head. "I know the drill."

The socs all looked at each other, and then James turned back to Ponyboy again. "Yeah…well, think you can help me out?" he asked, and Ponyboy noticed how desperate the soc looked. He no longer felt afraid before; it was actually quite funny.

"What's in it for me?" the boy questioned, crossing his arms.

James furrowed his eyebrows before taking out his wallet. "How much do ya want?"

If this was anyone else, they probably would have been thrilled that a _soc_ was giving them money. But due to Darry and Sodapop's overprotective nature, they would want to know exactly where that money came from, and Ponyboy didn't want to explain that he had helped a soc win a date by posing as their little brother. So he came up with the perfect payment that didn't involve money.

"No, I don't want money," he said. James put his wallet back. "Here's the deal: I pretend to be your little brother for a few minutes and help you get a date, and when I'm done, all of you will leave the greasers alone for a whole week." All of the socs faces dropped.

James turned to his friends, however he thought about Monica: the beautiful girl with the nice dresses. She was friends with Cherry Valance, and you had to be pretty to be friends with that girl. He knew then that he was desperate, and he really was willing to do anything.

"Alright; just one week, right?" All of the other socs glared at him, but one dirty look from him shut them all up. He was a senior after all. Ponyboy smiled.

"Depends: how many girls you askin' out?"

"Just one," James answered.

"Okay then, one week," the small greaser smiled. James muttered a cuss word under his breath but smiled back at Ponyboy. They were ready to go.

All of the girls looked at Monica when the boys approached them. Monica blushed; James just wouldn't leave her alone. However, her eyebrows rose when she saw a young boy standing close to James. She smiled at him; he was adorable.

"Monica," James started. Monica looked at him. "Wanna go out with me tomorrow night? Hear there's some good movies playing," he said. Monica sighed. Everybody stared at them.

"James, I just don't think-" she was cut off by Ponyboy.

"Please give my brother a chance," he begged, putting on the most adorable face he could muster. "He talks about you _all_ the time, Monica. He really likes you. He's a good guy."

All of the soc boys stared at Ponyboy while the girls all cooed over him. He waited a moment, and then cracked a grin at them, tilting his head to the side. The girls nearly collapsed.

Monica, who was pink by now, raised her eyebrows at James. "Alright, James, I'll come with you."

Ponyboy smiled, however when he saw Two-Bit's car pull up he instantly felt his stomach turn. What would Two-Bit do if he saw Ponyboy with a bunch of socs? Or even worse, what would Sodapop and Darry do if Two-Bit told them?

The boy waited until everybody was distracted, and then quickly darted out of the crowd and towards Two-Bit's car. He jumped in the backseat (Darry and Soda hated him being in the front) and shut the door loudly. Two-Bit looked over his shoulder at the boy.

"I'm sorry, Pony. Just got caught up. Please don't tell your brothers," Two-Bit pleaded. Ponyboy nodded.

"Let's just go," the boy ordered. Two-Bit smiled and turned back around, and then started driving.

Ponyboy looked out the window and saw some of the socs were looking around, no doubt for him. The girls seemed disappointed that he wasn't there so they couldn't pinch his cheeks or pet his head, but Ponyboy wasn't bothered by that. He just wanted the socs to keep their promise.

He didn't want Darry and Sodapop to find out either.

 **AN: There was the first chapter – I hope you enjoyed. So please leave suggestions as the story will most probably be based around them. If you have an idea just review :) I'll try to update as soon as possible, as long as there are enough suggestions :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
This chapter was based on suggestions from Angelah83552354 and FrankElza :)**

After Ponyboy got home, he did his homework, had a snack, and was currently watching TV. Two-Bit didn't know what had happened, but Ponyboy had suddenly turned really mouthy, and he knew Darry and Sodapop wouldn't like that.

"Whatcha watchin', Pony?" the wisecracking greaser asked, sitting next to his friend. Ponyboy scowled at him.

" _This_ ," he groaned, signalling to the TV screen. "It's not hard, Two-Bit." Two-Bit held his hands up.

"Just askin'," he grinned. Ponyboy didn't grin back.

Fifteen minutes later, Darry walked into the house. He strolled into the living-room and smiled at his baby brother, who had his arms crossed and was pulling a face.

"Hey, little guy, did you have a nice day?" the man asked. Ponyboy just nodded and kept his eyes fixed on the TV. Darry frowned and looked at Two-Bit.

"He's been like that since we got back. I don't know what's up with him," Two-Bit answered honestly.

"I hope you haven't been bein' mouthy, Ponyboy," Darry declared in a warning tone. Ponyboy shrugged.

"He's been buggin' me," he claimed, pointing at Two-Bit. "I'd be okay if we had better friends."

"Ponyboy!" Darry snapped. Ponyboy jumped and Two-Bit winced, though not at Darry's yelling. It hurt when Ponyboy said things like that, even though everyone knew he never meant anything.

"What's goin' on, Dar?" Sodapop asked, entering the room with Steve. The sixteen-year-old grinned at his little brother who was pouting.

"Ponyboy's being sassy," Darry sighed, shaking his head at his little brother.

Ponyboy gulped. He hated it when his brothers were angry with him. Even though he was in a bad mood, he felt the need to apologize.

"Sorry for bein' mean, Two-Bit," the little greaser muttered, his face directed at the floor. Steve smirked, but Two-Bit just smiled.

"That's alright." Ponyboy looked up and smiled at him, though it wasn't genuine.

Darry was still quite annoyed though. "I'm gonna start dinner," he grumbled, heading to the kitchen. Ponyboy bit his lip as he watched his eldest brother make his way to the kitchen; now he was in a bad mood and it was all Pony's fault.

The youngest Curtis got up and ambled to his bedroom. He didn't feel like staying in the living-room; Steve would probably say something that he'd try to punch him for, Soda would no doubt send him disapproving glances, and Two-Bit's face would just annoy him. Two-Bit just had that effect on people – it wasn't his fault. Though luckily for him he had an effect on people that made them laugh at him whenever he did something stupid.

Ponyboy sat down on his and Soda's bed and sighed. It wasn't his fault he was the baby and he was small – it's just how he was meant to be. Though the boy agreed in his head that even though he _hated_ being the baby, he'd no doubt be jealous if somebody tried to take his place.

They all had roles in the gang. Pony's role just happened to be everybody's baby brother, just like Johnny had the role of everyone's pet – who everybody looked out for. It was like one big family really, and Ponyboy couldn't imagine how he'd feel if someone in his gang was replaced.

"Time for dinner, Pony," Soda smiled. Ponyboy looked up; had it really been that long? He slowly got up and walked over to Sodapop, who held his hand out to him. Ponyboy sighed and took his brother's hand, and Soda led him to the kitchen.

Steve and Two-Bit were already sitting at the table. Darry was getting a glass out of the cupboard for himself to fill with water. "Anyone want one?"

"Pony does," Soda said. Ponyboy raised his eyebrows at his older brother, but Sodapop just smiled sweetly at him. The boy sighed and sat down, staring at the food that was in-front of him. Pony glared at the broccoli; he didn't like that green stuff.

By the time the other Curtis brothers had sat down, Ponyboy was poking the broccoli with his fork. "Ponyboy, please eat it and stop playing with your food," Darry sighed. Ponyboy groaned but started eating his food.

Everybody finished their food pretty quickly, except for Ponyboy who was staring at the broccoli on his plate like it was a monster. Darry shook his head at his little brother, before deciding on something effective. The man turned to Ponyboy and took the fork form him, and Ponyboy looked up at him hopefully, thinking Darry was going to let him leave. Of course he didn't.

Instead Ponyboy looked at his brother with wide eyes when Darry tried to feed the boy the broccoli himself. The youngest Curtis felt his cheeks get hot when he felt Two-Bit and Steve staring at him. Sodapop saw the issue and signalled for them to leave. Steve rolled his eyes but Two-Bit just smiled, and the two left.

"Darry, I can feed myself," Ponyboy whined, trying to snatch the fork off his big brother. Darry shook his head.

"I gave you enough chances, Ponyboy. Now, we ain't leavin' 'til this gets eaten," Darry promised.

Ponyboy's lip trembled. "Please let me do it myself," he whispered. The oldest Curtis sighed and handed the fork back to Ponyboy, and the boy finished his dinner so quickly he was almost sick. Sodapop smiled at his brothers.

"Next time, I'd just eat it, little man," he advised Ponyboy, who wiped his mouth with his shirt. Darry pulled his hand away roughly.

"Use a rag, Pony. I hate it when your clothes get dirty." Ponyboy rolled his eyes, and Darry raised his eyebrows. "You've been in a real sassy mood today. If you don't cut it out I'll put those overalls on ya, I'm telling you right now."

The youngest greaser stared at his brother then, his eyes pleading with him. The overalls Darry was referring to made Pony blush just thinking about them. They were like the ones he had on at that moment, except there was a pocket on the front with a duck stitched on. It was a real babyish duck too, and Pony hated the thought of it. Unfortunately for him, he still fit perfectly into those overalls. Sodapop frowned.

"I don't see the problem with those overalls. They're real cute," Soda said. Darry nodded.

"I think so too," he agreed. "Too bad Pony don't think so. But if he don't cut this sass out then he's wearin' them."

"What if I just don't wear them?" Ponyboy tested, but stopped when Darry gave him a look.

"Ya know, you've got some nice shirts to go with them too," the oldest Curtis said. Ponyboy swallowed; the shirts Darry was talking about were just as babyish as the overalls. He really didn't want to push his big brother anymore, so he just smiled at him.

The three brothers left the issue there. By the time they all entered the living-room, Dallas and Johnny had turned up too. Johnny had a fresh bruise on his cheekbone, though it was nothing new to the gang. Ponyboy just shook his head sadly; he hated it when Johnny got hurt.

Sodapop sat down next to Steve while Darry went and sat in his recliner. Ponyboy could see that Darry was still in quite a bad mood, so he decided to not bother him. Instead, the boy went and sat by Johnny and Two-Bit on the floor. Dally was leaning against the wall, biting his thumbnail.

"Hey, who wants to go see a movie?" the blond greaser said after a while. Two-Bit's and Johnny's heads snapped up immediately. Sodapop looked at Steve who shrugged.

"Might meet some nice girls there," Steve suggested. That's all it took for Sodapop to jump up and start running around for his shoes. Darry just smiled and shook his head.

Ponyboy looked at Darry. He really hated the way that he had to ask permission to go places, and that he had to have someone with him wherever he went. Though the whole gang was going, so Darry wouldn't have a problem, would he?

"Darry," Pony said quietly, approaching his brother. Darry looked up from his paper. "Can I go with them?"

Darry looked at his brother for a moment and closed his eyes. Ponyboy knew he was thinking. Finally, after a few seconds, he answered, "No, sorry Pony."

The youngest Curtis furrowed his eyebrows together. Why couldn't he go? There'd be people there, so what was the problem?

"But Darry-" Darry cut his youngest brother off.

"I said no, Ponyboy. You've been giving sass ever since I got home. If they go tomorrow then you can go then. Plus it's a school night, and you know how I feel about you going out on school nights."

Ponyboy stomped his foot. "It's only six though. The movies that play there aren't that long; I'd be home before my bedtime," he reasoned, though in a very sharp tone.

The oldest Curtis frowned at his brother. "Cut that attitude out, Ponyboy, or you know what'll happen," Darry warned.

"But…" Ponyboy stopped when his brother pressed his lips together. "Okay," he said sadly, going to lock himself in his room. Darry pulled him back.

"Listen, I don't wanna upset you, but you upset me today. How would you like it if I just came in here and started being mean to you?" the man asked, rubbing Pony's hair. The boy sighed.

"I'd be upset," he replied honestly. Darry nodded, kissing his baby brother's forehead.

Before Darry could say anything else, Sodapop and the rest of the gang strolled back into the living-room. "We're gonna go now, Dar. You comin' Pony?"

"No, he's staying here," Darry answered for his brother. Ponyboy sighed but tapped Darry's hand when the man stopped rubbing his hair. The older greaser chuckled.

"Well, we'll be back about nine, okay?" Soda said. Darry nodded and waved to all of them as they left. Ponyboy did too.

The youngest Curtis leaned back against his brother and watched TV with him, though he couldn't help but feel extremely bored. He needed to do something; the boy felt as if he'd die if he didn't. So he came up with a plan.

"I'm gonna go to bed, Dar," the boy said, leaning against his brother more to make him think that he was tired. Darry was confused.

"You sure? It's on 6:04," Darry said in shock.

Ponyboy nodded and closed his eyes, pretending to be almost asleep. Darry smiled and carried his little brother to his room.

As Darry began taking the boy's shoes off, he was stopped. "It's okay, I'll do it myself."

"You sure?" Darry asked. Ponyboy nodded.

"Okay. Night, baby," the man said softly, kissing his brother's forehead.

The youngest Curtis grinned at his brother and waited until he was gone. The boy got up and went to the bathroom, turning the water on so Darry thought he was brushing his teeth and washing up for bed. However, the boy sneaked back and placed some teddies (that of course were given to him by his big brothers) under his and Soda's blanket. Then he went back to the bathroom and turned the water off.

"Night, Darry," the boy called.

"Night, honey," Darry called back.

Ponyboy smirked and closed his bedroom door over gently, standing still for a moment before opening the window and climbing out. He wanted to have a good time tonight.

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Again, suggestions are widely appreciated as the story will mainly be based around these. Thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed the story so far :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
This chapter continues from FrankElza's suggestion. This chapter is also based on suggestions from: Angelah83552354, Pony-Edward-Lucas'Girl and Jessieklove. **

Ponyboy remembered his way to the movie house of course; he, Two-Bit and Johnny went almost every weekend. The boy wished he could watch movies by himself, since Two-Bit could get pretty distracted and Johnny couldn't always go, but of course Darry and Sodapop wouldn't have any of it. But now he was going – by himself.

The original plan was to find Sodapop and the rest of the gang and sit with them, but he knew Sodapop would know something was going on. Darry didn't give into stuff like that very easily, and neither did Soda.

He was about to head over to some empty seats and sit by himself, until he heard a familiar voice: Curly Shepard's. The boy turned and saw Curly sitting with a girl Ponyboy had seen from school. She was a greaser like them, and wore far too much red lipstick, but she was pretty. Ponyboy walked over to them.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked Curly, pointing to the seat next to the curly-haired greaser.

"Sure," Curly said. Ponyboy sat down next to his friend and smiled at the girl. She smiled back at him.

"Hey, I'm Elizabeth," she greeted.

"Ponyboy," the boy responded shyly. Funnily enough, she didn't ask about his name. She just smiled at him again and nodded her head.

Curly raised his eyebrows at his smaller friend. "Why ya here by yourself? Isn't there someone usually with ya? Or have your brothers finally left you alone?" the boy chuckled. Ponyboy sighed.

"They don't know," he whispered. Curly's eyes widened, and then he cracked a grin at the smaller greaser.

"You mean you snuck out?" Ponyboy nodded. "Man…" Curly chuckled.

The youngest Curtis was quiet then. Elizabeth was looking at him with a confused expression on her face, and he didn't want to explain to her that his two overprotective brothers would possibly kill him for sneaking out. He wouldn't look tough; he'd look like a baby.

"Your brothers don't like you goin' out by yourself?" she inquired. Ponyboy frowned and shook his head. "How old are ya'll?"

"Thirteen," the boy responded. Elizabeth nodded. "It's real annoyin' though. I'm grown up; teenagers ain't little kids. But my brothers, they see every other teenager in the world as a teenager, but with me, it's like I'm a baby."

Curly smirked; Ponyboy always complained about his brothers being overprotective over him. It was quite funny really, and Curly wold have found it funnier if his own brother cared about him. But he didn't.

"At least Darry and Sodapop care about you," Curly pointed out. "Tim don't give me a lick of attention." Ponyboy bit his lip but nodded his head all the same; it was true anyway.

"Yeah, but at least you don't have to dress like this," the boy declared, signalling to his overalls. Curly laughed; Ponyboy had made a point there – Curly would rather be dead than dress like a five-year-old. "Plus it's even worse when you can't put them on properly and have to…" Ponyboy mumbled, his voice fading.

Elizabeth shook her head at the two of them. "I just fight with my sisters," she said. Ponyboy and Curly looked at her. "I mean, I just hate being the oldest. Whenever one of my sisters do something, I always get blamed for it for not looking after them properly. And then there's the twins: one boy and one girl, and they're both two, but mom never has time to look after 'em. But when they want me more than her, she tells me it's my fault for spending time with them!" The two boys nodded.

"Well, I think bein' the middle's the worst," Curly said. "My mom and my stepdad never have time for _me_. Half the time they don't know I'm there; it's either Tim or Angela. But not Curly – he's the invisible child."

"Bein' the youngest is a pain," Ponyboy admitted. "I personally think there's _too much_ attention. It's not fun bein' followed everywhere and your two big brothers wantin' to know your whole plans for the day."

Elizabeth and Curly nodded, and the three continued to talk about what it was like being in a certain position in their family. Ponyboy learnt that Elizabeth was basically like a mom to her siblings, however because of this they always tended to fight. He also learnt that Tim only really talked to Curly if he needed a favor or something, and Angela liked to pick on him whenever Tim was around because she knew Tim wouldn't do anything. Curly and Elizabeth learnt that Ponyboy's brothers were more protective than the usual older siblings, and that he could barely get away with anything.

Just as Curly stopped speaking, Ponyboy felt a hand land on his shoulder. All three teenagers looked up, and Curly bit his lip while Ponyboy gulped. It was Darry.

"Havin' a nice time, Ponyboy?" Darry asked, cocking an eyebrow at his brother. "I see you found Curly. What about you, Curly?"

"Fine thanks," he answered uncomfortably. Elizabeth looked at him and nodded towards Darry, silently asking if he was one of Ponyboy's brothers. Curly nodded.

"You know, I hate to spoil this little talk ya'll seem to be havin', but Pony really needs to go to bed. Ya know, 'cause little kids need at least ten hours sleep?" he smiled, though Curly and Elizabeth could tell it wasn't meant as a nice thing to say. Ponyboy looked up at his big brother, and tears welled up in his eyes, but Darry just shook his head at him.

Ponyboy stood up and expected to follow Darry out of the movie house, but instead Darry picked the boy up and said goodbye to Curly and the girl before walking towards another row of seats. "Darry," Ponyboy started, squirming in his brother's arms. "What are you…"

The young greaser tried to get down when he saw that Darry was walking towards the seats that Sodapop and the rest of the gang were occupying. No doubt Darry would tell Sodapop what had happened. When Darry sat down, still holding Ponyboy, and Soda turned to look at them, the boy burst into tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Soda asked in shock, petting the boy's hair. Ponyboy turned and hid his face in Darry's shirt; once Darry told Soda what had happened, he'd be disappointed in Pony too.

"Well, Pony said he wanted to go to bed, but," the man lowered his voice when he noticed Steve was trying to figure out what was going on. "Turns out Pony had different plans and wanted to go to hang out with Curly." Darry nodded towards the curly-haired greaser with his girlfriend who was sitting at the other side of the theater. "So when I went to check on him, all's I found was a bunch of teddies in the bed," the man sighed.

Sodapop looked at Ponyboy and shook his head, however the boy was still hiding his face. "Anything coulda' happened, Ponyboy," Sodapop claimed disapprovingly. Ponyboy sniffled. "Well, what are ya gonna do, Dar?" The youngest Curtis stiffened.

"Let's talk about that tomorrow. Ponyboy, as soon as we get home, you're goin' straight to bed, okay? You want a lift, Soda, or are ya stayin'?"

"I'll stay, Dar. There's a real cute girl over there – I wanna ask her out," the teenager said, winking at his brother. Darry shook his head and smiled, but Ponyboy bit his tongue to stop himself from getting angry.

Why did Darry and Sodapop need girls anyway? He didn't really care about anyone else's girlfriends, but when it came to his big brothers, it was kind of a competition. But he wasn't jealous, no…he was just looking out for his brothers, like they did with him. That's all it was. There was no way he was jealous…no way. He denied it.

"We'll head back then. See ya soon, little buddy," Darry smiled, standing up. Ponyboy clung to his older brother. Now that he had been caught, there was no way he was going to behave any worse. Darry could be real scary sometimes.

The drive home was quiet. Ponyboy kept looking over at Darry, but Darry was focused on the road. The boy bit his lip then; he hoped Darry wasn't too angry with him.

When they finally got back to the house, Darry reminded his little brother that he was to get ready for bed. Pony did so without any arguments, and pretty soon he was climbing into bed. He wondered if Darry would forget to tuck him in, however a few seconds later Darry came in and kissed Pony's forehead before pulling the blanket over him. Still, Ponyboy was worried about tomorrow.

 **XXX**

"I _hate_ this," Ponyboy scowled. He was looking in the mirror, and he felt so ridiculous. Darry had made him wear the overalls with the duck stitched on the pocket, along with a shirt that had a funny monkey on it. Ponyboy wanted to cry; he looked like a little kid.

"You look adorable," Sodapop cooed, pinching his little brother's cheeks. Pony smacked his brother's hand away and pouted.

"No…I look stupid. And I smell like somebody's thrown me in a bunch of flowers." The second part was quite true actually. Darry and Soda had both given him a bath that morning, and the soap had a scent of flowers. It was real embarrassing.

Sodapop just smiled and shook his head at his baby brother before leading him out to the kitchen. Darry was already sat down; it had been a challenge getting Ponyboy to put on the overalls. When Darry tried to dress the boy himself, Ponyboy had fought with him, however Darry was much bigger than his little brother. This however, had left Ponyboy in a bad mood.

Darry grinned when his two little brothers sat down. Ponyboy was pouting, but that was to be expected. "There ya go, little guy," Darry said, pushing Pony's plate towards him. The young boy shook his head; he wasn't in the mood for eating.

However, when Darry made to pick the boy's fork up, Ponyboy immediately snatched the fork away from his brother and started eating. Darry smiled before picking up his coffee mug. Sodapop began eating his breakfast too, and soon they were all done.

"Need a ride to work, Pepsi?" Darry asked his brother. Sodapop shook his head.

"Me and Steve are walkin'. Oh, I got that cute girl's number too. I said I'd call her tonight," the teenager said fondly. The two brothers completely missed the way Ponyboy's eyes darkened at the mention of a possible girlfriend for one of them.

"You should invite her over sometime. What's her name?"

"Sandy," Soda replied. Ponyboy narrowed his eyes; he didn't like this Sandy, whoever she was.

Darry just nodded his head before taking his mug to the sink. Ponyboy sighed and picked up his and Soda's plates; it was his turn to do the dishes that morning. Once he was finished, the boy went and sat on the sofa. Both of his brothers came and sat next to him.

"Now Pony," Darry started. "What you did yesterday was very bad. Who knows what coulda happened to ya?" Ponyboy sunk down slightly. "You're grounded for a week. And," he nodded towards the boy's clothes he was wearing. "Since you don't like them very much, you can wear 'em for the week too." Ponyboy pouted.

"Everyone will laugh at me," the boy sighed, looking at the floor. Sodapop lifted his chin then.

"No they won't. You look real cute in them," he smiled. His baby brother just scowled at him.

"Two-Bit's here," he mumbled, standing up sharply and stomping to get his backpack. Darry raised his eyebrows then.

"Ponyboy, if you get mouthy again…" he left the threat there.

Ponyboy growled, though he did lose the attitude. He went back into the living-room and gave both of his brothers a kiss before leaving, though as soon as he shut the front door, he kicked a rock hard. How his life was so annoying.

Two-Bit waved his younger friend over to the car, and Ponyboy opened the door roughly before climbing in next to his friend. The older greaser frowned.

"I hope you don't plan on bein' mean again, Ponyboy," Two-Bit said, shaking his head. Ponyboy furrowed his eyebrows while Two-Bit started the car. He hoped his friend wouldn't start lecturing him too.

The boy had been right about the overalls though. He wasn't teased for wearing them, however the kids looked at him differently. A lot of the girls smiled at Pony, especially the ones older than him, when he walked past, and most of the boys smirked at the young greaser.

At lunch, instead of heading to the cafeteria straight away, the boy decided to go outside. However, he knew that Steve or Two-Bit would come to find him, so the greaser headed over to a spot where he could get some privacy. Or at least he hoped.

"I don't get why you smoke. It's a greaser thing," James said in disgust, watching as Eddie lit up a cigarette. Eddie sighed.

"But I _need_ them," he claimed. James rolled his eyes; of course Eddie had wanted him to go out with him while he had a cancer stick. Everybody wanted to be with James; he was the oldest and the wisest.

Ponyboy walked into the scene accidentally, and then scowled. Why were there socs there?

"Oh," James said, seeing Ponyboy standing there with a glare on his face. He realized it was the same boy who had helped him win Monica over. "Need somethin'?"

Suddenly, Ponyboy's attention was directed to the cancer stick that Eddie was holding. "Can I have one of those?" he asked, pointing at the cigarette.

Darry and Sodapop could tolerate their friends smoking. Darry could tolerate Sodapop smoking when the teenager was stressed. But what they both wouldn't tolerate, was Ponyboy smoking. He was far too young!

Eddie sighed. "Ya know, I only have a few left and-"

"Just give him one," James snapped at his sophomore friend. Eddie huffed but did as he was told.

When Ponyboy was handed the lighter, he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. He tried to flick it on, but it wouldn't work. James took the lighter from him and lighted the cancer stick before handing the lighter back to his friend.

"You smoke often?" the older soc asked sarcastically, but he grinned at Ponyboy. Then he took a good look at the outfit the boy had on. "Uh…"

Ponyboy saw what James was looking at. "My brothers," he said quickly, and then shut his mouth. Why was he telling _socs_ this information?

"Huh," James said, and then stated, "I didn't catch your name."

"Ponyboy," the boy answered, and then put the cigarette in his mouth sharply. He needed to shut up.

James laughed. "I ain't never met a Ponyboy before." And then, more quietly, he said, "And I don't think I've spoken to a greaser this long before."

Ponyboy looked up at him, inhaling the smoke before coughing slightly. Eddie chuckled before stubbing his cigarette out. "I'm goin' in, you comin'?" he asked James. James shook his head.

"I'll follow you in," he said. Eddie just shrugged and walked off.

"Thanks for the cancer stick," Ponyboy called. Eddie pretended he couldn't hear him. James sighed.

"Sorry 'bout him. He don't like greasers that much," the senior explained. Ponyboy smirked.

"I don't like socs that much either," he responded honestly. James sighed again but nodded all the same.

"Just the way it is, huh. Ya know, we're not all that bad. I mean, I know there are people like us like Bob Sheldon who give us a bad reputation, but that's not all of us. Most of us maybe, but not all of us," he informed the boy. Ponyboy sighed and threw his cigarette on the ground.

"I gotta go," the boy said. James smiled.

"Yeah, me too," he stated. "Can't be havin' Eddie tellin' everyone I hang out with greasers, now, can I?"

"Definitely not," Ponyboy muttered. He walked away quickly. The boy knew what James had said had been meant as a joke, but he couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he'd said that.

Two-Bit, Steve and Johnny were sitting around a table in the cafeteria, all waiting for Ponyboy. They all exhaled in relief when they saw the little greaser rushing over to them.

"Where were ya, Pony?" Two-Bit asked his friend as the boy sat down next to Johnny.

"Just went for a walk," he said quickly. It wasn't a complete lie, and Ponyboy hoped none of his friends (or his brothers' buddies) would be able to smell the smoke on him, because he knew _one_ of them would _definitely_ snitch on him if they did.

Two-Bit wanted to head over to the DX after school, and since Ponyboy wasn't allowed to walk by himself, he had to go too. Not that he minded; he was grounded anyway, and this was the perfect excuse to be out of the house.

Sodapop was chatting to a girl when Two-Bit, Steve, Johnny and Ponyboy entered the gas station. The girl was blonde, lean and wore a lot of eye makeup, and she giggled at nearly everything Soda said. So this was the infamous Sandy? Ponyboy glared at her.

"See you soon, Soda," she smiled, biting her lip. Sodapop stared after her longingly when she left.

"Boy, you sure got a looker there, Sodapop," Two-Bit said seriously, his eyes bigger than before. Ponyboy scowled at him; his big brother didn't need to be encouraged.

"I wanna go the park," Sodapop claimed, leaping down from the counter. Steve stared at his buddy as if he'd lost his mind.

"But Soda-"

"Frank said I could close up the station early," the teenager explained to his friend, who nodded with his eyes closed.

Ponyboy grinned then; he wouldn't mind going to the park. Again, he wasn't allowed home by himself after all.

The gang headed over to the park, and Sodapop grinned mischievously before throwing a football at Two-Bit's head. He had been wanting to go to the park all day and had taken their football from the lot in the morning. Two-Bit hadn't noticed that Sodapop had the football until now.

The youngest Curtis however, wasn't in the mood for football. While the gang began to pick teams, he went to the far end of the park and sat down, when an idea suddenly dawned on him. Darry had said he had to wear the overalls all week…but he couldn't wear them if they were dirty, could he?

Ponyboy laughed and began rolling around on the ground, determined to mess up his clothes. In the midst of it, he hadn't noticed a man had been watching him.

By the time the boy sat up, the overalls were stained with grass and mud. Darry would be angry, but at least he wouldn't have to wear the clothes.

"What are you doin'?" the man asked, sitting down next to Ponyboy. Ponyboy looked up at the man.

"Oh, I was just…rolling around," he answered innocently, as if the man were about to start lecturing him. The man smirked.

"Well, my name's Den. What's yours?" he questioned, scooting closer to Ponyboy. Ponyboy swallowed.

"Ponyboy," he said, trying to move away. The man sat back then.

"You've just upset me," he admonished, turning his head away. The young boy felt guilty then.

"Oh no, it's just…my big brothers tell me not to talk to strangers. But, well…you seem nice enough," Pony grinned. Den grinned back at him.

Meanwhile, Darry had pulled up in his truck. Sodapop had told him a little after Ponyboy had left that he was going to head over to the park after work, and that Ponyboy and the gang would probably be joining him. Darry was wary at first, since Ponyboy was grounded, but soon gave in.

"Where's Pony?" the oldest Curtis asked, turning his head.

"Oh," Soda said sheepishly. "He didn't wanna play with us."

The two Curtis brothers looked around for their brother, and noticed he was sitting with an unknown man. The two brothers looked at each other then and narrowed their eyes.

"I think I'd like to be a writer when I grow up. I mean, I love to read, and I really like English. Do you like to read?" Ponyboy asked Den.

Den was trying to stroke Ponyboy's hair, but the young greaser kept ducking out the way. "Uh…sorry, what'd you say?" he asked, and then _accidentally_ brushed his hand across Ponyboy's cheek.

From the distance that they were at, Darry and Sodapop scowled. Not on their watch was this stranger going to get their innocent baby brother. Two-Bit had stopped trying to tickle Steve and looked over to what the two Curtis brothers were looking at. The greaser backed away slowly.

"We'll be back you guys," Darry growled, and the two brothers made their way over to their baby brother and the strange man.

Ponyboy gulped when his brothers approached him. He thought he was in trouble for not staying close to the gang. "Hey guys," the young boy greeted, smiling at his brothers. Darry and Sodapop smiled back and Ponyboy sighed in relief; they weren't mad at him.

Den turned around and faced Darry and Sodapop. He swallowed when he saw their faces. "Darry, Soda, this is Den. Den, these are my big brothers, Darry and Sodapop." Ponyboy introduced them to each other. "Oh, and Darry, you ain't allowed to say I shouldn't talk to strangers, 'cause Den said if we didn't talk to strangers then we wouldn't have any friends," the boy said. Den smiled nervously.

"Yeah, Pony, I think you should just listen to Darry and me in the future," Sodapop said, sending a warning look to Den. Den gulped.

"I havta go," he said quickly, standing up sharply.

"But you said you could talk to me all day _and_ night if you had the chance," Ponyboy complained when Darry picked him up.

"I lied!" the man shouted, already miles away from the three brothers.

Ponyboy groaned and buried his face in Darry's shoulder. "I'm a nice boy…why don't people like me?" he sniffled. Darry and Sodapop felt bad for their little brother then.

"Of course people like you, honey," Sodapop claimed, patting his back. "But people like that, well," he didn't want to explain all that stuff to Ponyboy just yet, so he said, "He didn't like you for you. He wasn't very nice."

"How do you know?" Ponyboy inquired. His brothers knew everything.

"We could just tell," Darry stated. Ponyboy sighed into his brother's shoulder.

The three brothers walked back to the gang, and everything was going perfect until Darry saw the state of Ponyboy's clothes.

"Ponyboy, your overalls!" he hollered. Ponyboy groaned.

 **AN: That chapter was longer than usual :) I won't be updating until after the New Year, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Suggestions are widely appreciated as the story will be mainly based around them – and suggestions you leave might not be used until later chapters, so don't worry if yours doesn't come up just yet ;) Thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far; I can't thank you all enough :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
I'm sorry, it's taken so long to update, but I was having an issue where I couldn't see any reviews so it was kind of hard to write the story without the suggestions ;) I hope you all had a Happy New Year!  
This chapter is based on suggestions from Jessieklove and Angelah83552354**

"I want to ride in the back with them," Ponyboy protested, pointing behind him. Sodapop, Steve and Two-Bit were all in the bed of Darry's truck while Ponyboy, Darry and Johnny were in the front. Darry frowned and shook his head.

"No, you might fall out if I hit something on the road," the man said quickly. Ponyboy tried to speak again, but Darry gave him a look, "Stop it, Ponyboy. I said no, and that's my final answer."

Ponyboy pouted and sat back in his seat. Darry shook his head at the boy, but kept his eyes fixed on the road. Johnny just smiled at Ponyboy; he knew that his younger friend was often 'overprotected' by his older brothers and he honestly felt sorry for him. Though even Johnny had to admit, like Curly Shepard, he would have preferred to have overbearing big brothers than his abusive parents.

"We still need to have a talk about your clothes too," Darry pointed out. Ponyboy paled. "And I guess me and Soda didn't teach you well about talkin' to strangers now, did we?"

The youngest Curtis sunk down in his seat. He honestly hadn't meant to start a full conversation with that strange man Den; if anything, Den had tricked him. The boy wasn't even going to talk to Den, but then the man got upset, and Darry always told Pony he'd be very angry if Ponyboy ever upset an adult (though he really only meant family, people who Darry, Soda and the gang knew, or teachers) so the boy was just following Darry's rules.

The park wasn't far away from the Curtis house at all, and very soon, they were home. Sodapop and Two-Bit hopped out of the truck once they pulled in the drive, and after the truck had stopped completely, Steve flipped off the truck. Darry wasn't really bothered, and just got out of the truck. Ponyboy climbed out after his brother, and Johnny got out the other side.

When the three of them got in the house, Sodapop and Steve were already wrestling on the floor and Two-Bit was sitting on the sofa drinking a beer while watching Mickey. Ponyboy went to sit down but Darry grabbed his arm. "I need to talk to you for a minute," Darry told his brother. Ponyboy just sighed and followed Darry to his brother's bedroom.

Darry sat down on the bed and smiled at Pony, showing him it was alright to sit down. Ponyboy couldn't see it, but he had been shaking. The boy sat down next to his big brother, but he seemed nervous, and Darry noticed.

"I think you'll have to have a bath after dinner," Darry stated. Ponyboy scowled.

"No! I already had one today!" the boy yelled. Darry raised his eyebrows at his baby brother; he didn't want to have to raise his voice, however he didn't like it one bit when Ponyboy started shouting. The younger greaser got the message and quietened down.

"Why are your clothes like that then?" the oldest Curtis asked, pointing to the mud that had stained the overalls. "They weren't like that this morning."

"I just fell into some mud by accident," Ponyboy said. "I really didn't mean for it to happen." The boy knew how to play Darry's game, or at least he thought he did.

"You didn't, did you?" Darry questioned sweetly. Ponyboy smiled back just as sweetly, though it wasn't genuine at all. But he knew if he wanted to get out of trouble, he'd have to play the innocent game for a little bit. Only a little bit though; he couldn't let his brothers think he acted like that all the time!

"Well," Darry started. Ponyboy hid his smirk, thinking he was about to get away with messing up his clothes. "I guess that means that until you're ungrounded, somebody will have to be with you all the time to make sure you don't fall." Ponyboy sighed. "If it happens again we might even have to carry you all the time to make sure-"

"That's fine," Ponyboy grinned, very falsely. He supposed he'd have to put up with a bit of humiliation in order to avoid punishment. That did however, take Darry a bit by surprise, as he was sure Ponyboy was about to confess what he'd done. So Darry decided to take a different approach.

"Actually, ya know what? You want to take responsibility don't you? Guess you'll have to go clean yourself up then," Darry pointed to the bathroom. "By yourself. You'll need to go and wash your clothes as well; they can't be like that."

Ponyboy smiled. Was Darry finally letting loose? Was he finally going to cut his little brother a break?

"I mean, I won't have time really. See, I met this girl today - her name's Lori, and she has the nicest smile I've ever seen on a girl in my life, and she gave me her number, Pony. While you're getting everythin' cleaned up, I guess I'll call her," Darry smiled. The smile on Ponyboy's face immediately disappeared.

"A-a girl?" the young boy asked timidly. Darry nodded and grinned even more.

"Yeah, Pony, a girl. She's comin' over for my birthday tomorrow as well," he told his brother, and Ponyboy couldn't stop himself from gasping.

What Darry had said wasn't a lie. He had met a girl called Lori at work that day, only because she was one of Darry's co-workers stepdaughters. The co-worker didn't care much for the girl, and she felt the same about her stepfather, however she had taken a liking to Darry it seemed. Darry thought she was nice and pretty and everything, but he wasn't looking for a relationship with her. However, he had invited her over to his party, only because he was inviting everybody else at work, and he didn't want to leave her out. But Ponyboy didn't know that.

"Go on then. You're always tellin' me and Soda how you want to be independent. I ain't stoppin' ya from doin' what ya want," Darry said firmly, though he wasn't angry at all.

"So, is she your girlfriend?" Ponyboy gulped. Darry shook his head.

"Nope, though she may have already asked me to go out with her tomorrow. I might have done if the party wasn't on; that's part of the reason why she's coming." It was partially the reason why she was coming too, and Darry didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Ponyboy looked down at the floor then, feeling very hurt. Soda was already talking to that girl Sandy he'd met at the movie house, and now Darry had met someone too? Maybe Darry didn't love him no more, and that's why he wanted a girlfriend. Pony didn't want to lie to his brother anymore; as much as the boy claimed he hated the way his brothers treated him, he'd rather them treat him like that than replace him.

"D-Darry, I'm real sorry about ma overalls. I-I rolled around on the grass in the park c-cause I didn't wanna wear 'em. But I'll clean 'em up and I'll wear 'em, I promise!" the young boy claimed, almost close to tears. Darry nodded then. "Ya'll can carry me if ya want, too," he offered, feeling the need to let his brother know how serious he was. "Anywhere or everywhere, so I don't fall and ruin my clothes-"

"Ponyboy, I knew it was you all along," Darry smirked. Ponyboy looked up at him. "Listen, that girl Lori who's comin' over tomorrow, she's nice and she likes me, but I'm not sure I like her the same way back. I was only tellin' you in a 'different' way to make a point, little brother." Ponyboy frowned. "Why can't you just be honest with me in the future?"

Ponyboy sniffled then. "I didn't want you to be angry."

Darry sighed. "Look, the one thing I hate hearing outta you more than anything are lies. Sure, I'm upset that you messed up your overalls, but I'm even more upset that you lied to me. I knew it was you, sure, but to hear you lyin'…Pony, you're the one who keeps sayin' you're not a kid, but when you lie, well that sure don't show me any maturity," the man explained to his baby brother.

"But you lie too sometimes," Ponyboy claimed. Darry frowned, but signalled for his brother to continue. Ponyboy flushed; he hated it when his brother made him explain things. "Well, when I got that injection about two months ago…you told me we were goin' the doctor's 'cause Soda was sick." Darry smiled.

"I did, didn't I? But who was the one who was fussin' 'cause he had the flu but he didn't want to get an injection since he was so scared?" Darry asked. Ponyboy shook his head.

"You still lied to me, and you're not a kid; you're twenty tomorrow," Ponyboy stated. Darry nodded at his baby brother.

"I made it up to you though, didn't I? I held you 'til you stopped cryin', _and_ you got better," Darry responded. Ponyboy frowned; he still didn't think it was fair. But before he could say anything else, Darry spoke again. "Lines or the corner?" he asked his little brother.

Ponyboy groaned. "Darry c'mon," he pleaded.

"You want both?" he said, raising his eyebrows. Ponyboy sighed.

"How many lines?"

"Thirty, and if you make a mistake you have to start all over again." Ponyboy groaned again.

"Fine," he mumbled, refraining from glaring at his big brother.

"And after dinner you're gonna work on your homework, and then get in the bath," Darry stated, but Ponyboy shook his head.

"No; I ain't havin' another bath today," the boy claimed, but shuffled back slightly when Darry crossed his arms and gave him a pointed look. "I didn't get anythin' on myself, Dar. But I don't want another bath. I'll take a shower if I need to," Ponyboy expressed.

Darry sighed but nodded all the same. "Fine, only because you've had one today. I'll go get you some paper; you can do it in here," he told his brother, and walked off to get some paper.

Ponyboy finished the lines in ten minutes, however Darry told him that meant that he had to do his homework, which the boy was less than thrilled about. However, he made a start on it, and by dinner he was almost finished. When the boy saw what Soda had prepared however, he shook his head.

There was blue mashed potatoes, meat, and carrots. The meat and the potatoes didn't bother Ponyboy, however the carrots did. He hated carrots as much as he hated broccoli.

"Ponyboy, you better eat those," Darry said firmly. Ponyboy didn't answer his brother, and continued to avoid the carrots as much as possible.

Finally when he had finished everything on his plate except for the carrots, he attempted to take them off the plate and throw them away. But Darry was waiting for his little brother to try and do something like that.

"Get your hand away from those carrots, Ponyboy, and use your fork," the man smiled. Ponyboy swallowed and placed the vegetables back down. "Do you want me to feed you?" Darry asked seriously. Ponyboy frowned.

"I'm not a little kid; I can feed myself," the boy complained.

"Well, you're not doin' a very good job of it," Soda pointed out. "Come on, Ponyboy, it's been a nice day, so don't ruin it."

Ponyboy felt bad then. He didn't want to ruin his brother's good feelings, plus it was Darry's birthday tomorrow, but he really did hate carrots. They made him feel queasy.

"I don't want them," he claimed, a little louder than he intended. Luckily, the gang had gone, so Pony knew he couldn't really get embarrassed by being shouted at if Darry did decided to yell.

"Ponyboy, don't use that tone, okay?" Darry growled angrily. Ponyboy gulped. "They're good for you. And if you're not gonna eat them then I'll ground you for another week too." The young boy shook.

"Darry, you can't!" he cried.

"Ponyboy, I can. And if you can't cope with a week, then two will be even worse, don't ya think?"

The young greaser sighed, feeling defeated. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again before taking his fork and eating all of the carrots, knowing his brothers were watching him. Darry smiled at him when he was done.

"Now I'm happy with ya," he said. "Now, go on and do the rest of your homework."

Ponyboy finished it, however when he had he didn't feel like moving much. He had a headache and he felt really tired. Plus, the side of his mouth was really itchy and it was irritating him like crazy.

"You done, little man?" Darry asked, sitting down next to his brother on the floor. However when he saw Ponyboy's face, he gasped. "Ponyboy, your face!"

"Don't yell, Dar," the boy grumbled. "My head's killin'…take me to bed."

Darry got worried then, so he called Soda over. Soda's expression changed in less than a second, however he breathed out heavily. "He must be allergic to somethin'," the teenager suggested, running off to find some medicine. Ponyboy sighed and tried to scratch the side of his mouth again, but Darry held his hand.

"Damn, it musta' been those vegetables. I'm sorry, baby," Darry said sadly. Ponyboy just shrugged and grumbled again.

Sodapop came back with the medicine, and Pony was feeling too lousy to protest when Soda gave the boy the medicine himself. The youngest Curtis just wanted to go to bed, and after his brothers had finished checking over him, that's where he was put.

It was hard for his eyes not to water since the boy felt as if his nose was on fire. Sodapop just rubbed his baby brother's back while Darry read him a story. It was from a kid's book, but again, Ponyboy was feeling too lousy to care. He might have even enjoyed the attention he was getting slightly, but he'd never let his brothers know that. This was just a one-off: that's what he told himself.

The time was only 7:25 PM, but Darry thought that was a reasonable time for his baby brother to go to sleep at anyway, especially as he was sick.

"Darry, no more carrots, okay?" Ponyboy questioned, still sniffling. Darry nodded.

"I promise, baby, no more," he smiled, ruffling the smaller boy's hair before continuing to read the book. Ponyboy was content with the response and lay his head down, and after a few minutes of Darry's soothing voice and Sodapop's comfort, he was out like a light.

 **XXX**

Ponyboy had tried not to be in a grumpy mood, however he was angry that Darry had still made him wear the overalls with duck stitched on when company was coming over. It was his oldest brother's twentieth birthday so he didn't want to throw a fit, but he still thought it was very unfair that he had to be dressed like a little kid.

"Hey you, what's up?" Darry chuckled, poking his baby brother in his ribs. Ponyboy scowled, not giggling for anything.

"What's your problem, Darry?" he asked without meaning to sound horrible. "Why do you treat me like I'm little? Just because I'm small don't mean nothin'."

Darry frowned at his baby brother, not happy at all that his brother was talking to him like this on his twentieth birthday, which was a very important birthday. But he knew this question would come up soon enough, and he knew if he didn't tell his little brother the answer, the question would follow him round all day. So he decided he would tell him.

"Ponyboy," Darry said softly, sitting down next to his younger brother. "Do you remember Cindy? The girl I started dating when I was seventeen?" Ponyboy frowned; he had never liked that girl since she always wanted to be with Darry, but he nodded all the same. "Do you remember how upset I was when she broke up with me?" Ponyboy shook his head honestly; his parents had kept him away from Darry after the break-up, so he never remembered his brother being so upset. Though he had heard crying down the hall from his bedroom, though he assumed it was Soda, since Soda could bawl over the silliest things sometimes.

"Well, when I was nineteen and she was twenty, we made a plan that we'd marry each other," he explained gently. Ponyboy cocked an eyebrow at his brother, for the first time ever really. "Of course when I told mom and dad that, they told me that we should wait first, and they told me if Cindy had a baby and I was the daddy, there was no going back then." Ponyboy nodded.

"But I knew I loved Cindy, Pony. She was somethin' different. And when I told you Lori had the most beautiful smile on a girl I'd ever seen, it was almost true, 'cause Cindy hardly ever smiled. But when I say it was almost-true, it was because when Cindy _did_ smile, she was real beautiful, Pony. And I knew I wanted to have children with her since I loved her so much, and I was prepared to walk out on ya'll."

Ponyboy swallowed; his big brother was planning on leaving them? "Then why didn't you?" he asked curiously. Darry exhaled slowly.

"Cindy liked me a lot Pony, I know she did, but she wanted kids more than anythin'. So we decided to check it out; Cindy wanted to check if she could have kids, and the doctor said that she could and she was perfectly fine, so we were thrilled. But when _my_ tests came back…" Darry's voice faded then. Ponyboy looked up at his big brother and he felt his heart break when he saw how sad his tough brother looked.

"I told her we could adopt, but Cindy didn't want that; she wanted her own kids. It wasn't my fault, Pony; it's just the way life is. But Cindy didn't see it that way. And when I next went over to her house, she'd bought all baby clothes, and when I asked her what they were for, she told me she didn't wanna be with me 'cause I couldn't give her what she dreamed for. So she found another man who she could have a baby with, and she married him instead. I was nineteen then, Pony. I was still nineteen yesterday," Darry whispered. Ponyboy felt like crying for his big brother; he could see Darry was sad, even though his face had no emotion.

"But ya know what, Pony? Cindy had a little boy, and she's so happy, Pony. She smiles whenever I see her, and she never used to do that to anyone. But whenever I see her with her little boy, sometimes, just sometimes, I think to myself: he could be _mine_."

Ponyboy nodded; he understood now. Darry was only so overprotective of him because he couldn't have kids of his own, and Ponyboy was his lost shot at it basically. "When I see you, Pony, I almost see me. Cause you're _my_ little brother. Mine. And I don't want anything to happen to you," Darry smiled, though Pony could see it was teary. So the boy hugged his oldest brother as hard as he could. Maybe he did get annoyed that his brothers treated him the way they did, but now that Darry had explained all that…he was grateful to have his big brothers.

"What about Soda?" Pony asked after he had finished hugging his oldest brother. Darry tilted his neck slightly. "Why does he treat me like you do; he ain't gone through somethin' like that." Darry laughed.

"That's just Soda for ya. When he saw me bein' overprotective of ya, he just had to join in," Darry laughed. Ponyboy laughed too.

There was a knock suddenly, and Darry knew people were beginning to arrive for the party. Ponyboy stood up and waited for his big brother.

Darry opened the door, and revealed a bubbly-looking woman with curly black hair and brown eyes. She was quite pretty, though Pony didn't like the amount of makeup she was wearing on her face.

"Hi Darry, it's Lori!" she giggled, bouncing slightly from excitement.

Ponyboy scowled; looks like there was some competition after all.

 **AN: So it's January 5** **th** **, which a lot of people believe is Darry's birthday, so I decided to add that in ;) So that's the reason why Darry's so overprotective over Pony ;) Any ideas for the next chapter? By the way, suggestions put on previous chapters might very well be used in future chapters, I just need to try and fit in them, since it might seem like I keep using the same suggestions ;) Any suggestions about what Pony tries to do about the women at the party – since he clearly isn't happy with them XD I'll try to update as soon as I can :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
Ideas in this chapter were based off reviews from FrankElza and Guest :)**

Ponyboy went and sat in his room while the other guests were arriving. If he were to be honest, part of the reason why he'd gotten away from the commotion was because he didn't want to see Lori with her stupid smile or her stupid bright lipstick or her stupid blue dress that was much too tight around her chest. The boy didn't dig her, and that was final.

Sandy was supposed to be coming to the party too. Sandy…that sounded like a girl who'd go to the beach a lot, Ponyboy was certain of it. And she'd wear one of those tight swimsuits which showed off everything and all of the boys, greasy or socy, would stare at her: Ponyboy just knew she'd be like that. But why'd she have to pick Soda? Or why did Soda have to pick _her_?

A knock on the door made Ponyboy lose his thoughts. The boy groaned, but shouted for the person to come in. It was Soda.

"Hey, Pony," the teen smiled, sitting down next to his baby brother. Before Ponyboy could scoot away, Sodapop grabbed the boy in his arms and tickled him slightly. "A lot of people are here now. Why don't ya come out and meet a few people, huh? Some people wanna meet _you_."

 _Fawn over me_ , is what Ponyboy wanted to respond with, however he held his tongue. It was true though; whenever Ponyboy was introduced to new people, mainly women, they'd just gush over him like he was a baby that had just learnt how to walk. The men would treat him decently, but Ponyboy knew it was just an act. Sure, they didn't coo over him like their wives and daughters did, but they stared at him fondly and praised him if he said something smart, and Ponyboy knew they didn't do that to Darry or Soda.

"Is Sandy here?" Ponyboy wanted to know. Sodapop smiled at his brother and nodded.

"She sure is, little man. You wanna meet her?"

 _No_. "Sure," Ponyboy responded, plastering a grin on his face. He couldn't be mean to Soda; he was too kind for anyone to be mean to him. Pony had to admit, he wasn't surprised when Soda he had a new girl. Still though, she was competition for sure.

The youngest Curtis followed his big brother out to the front yard, where the gathering was taking place. Ponyboy searched around for Darry and Lori, however Sodapop grabbed his hand and led him over to quite a lean girl with the blondest hair Ponyboy had ever seen, along with eyes that would look perfect on a china doll.

"Hey Sandy, this is my little brother: Ponyboy. Ponyboy, this is _Sandra_ ," Sodapop grinned. Sandy hit Soda on the shoulder playfully. Ponyboy's eyes narrowed at the physical contact, but nobody else noticed.

"Hey Ponyboy," Sandy chuckled, bending down slightly because of Ponyboy's small height. Ponyboy didn't say anything, so Sodapop gently pushed the boy forward, thinking he was just shy.

"Hi Sandra," Ponyboy greeted, trying not to giggle. Sandy clearly didn't like that name. The girl just laughed and shook her head.

"Sandy's ma name, cutie. Your big brother was just bein' silly," she explained. Ponyboy smiled at her again, but when she turned her head he stuck his tongue out at the girl, completely forgetting Sodapop was behind him. Sodapop cleared his throat, making Ponyboy stiffen. Luckily though, he hadn't seemed to notice.

"Why don't ya go see what Darry's doin', huh, Pony? I'm sure he'll have plenty of people for you to meet." Sodapop winked at him. Ponyboy frowned.

"Okay, you wanna get rid of me? Fine," he growled, storming off. He was just pretending though; he could never get mad at Soda. Well, he thought he couldn't.

Sandy looked at Soda then, thinking her boyfriend had upset the boy. But Sodapop just shook his head, stating that Pony was cranky.

The youngest Curtis walked over to Darry, who was currently talking to the girl who Ponyboy knew he didn't like. Lori.

"Hey, little guy," Darry smiled, holding his arm out so Ponyboy could hug him. Ponyboy went to Darry and latched his arms around his brother's waist hard, showing this Lori-girl that Darry didn't have time for her. So what if Darry had said he wasn't interesting? Girls could be manipulating; he'd heard that fact from Steve Randle, even though he wasn't supposed to be listening in.

Lori just grinned at Ponyboy, her brown eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "Well aren't you adorable?" she expressed when Ponyboy eventually pulled away from Darry since he had been hiding his face in Darry's shirt the entire time he was hugging his big brother.

Ponyboy scowled slightly, though Darry raised his eyebrows at his brother. The boy groaned but didn't say anything to Darry.

"My name's Lori. I met Darry at his work yesterday, and boy is he a hard worker. Do you look up to him?" Lori asked, sipping the soda she had in her hand. She put it down on a nearby table and helped herself to some candy too.

That was when Ponyboy noticed her figure wasn't all that perfect. Her arms were quite thin as well as her ankles and knees, but Ponyboy noticed she certainly had a bit of a stomach. She wasn't curvy. She was a little big. You couldn't notice her stomach really, but Pony could. Though how was her stomach like that when the rest of her body, apart from her thighs, were all skinny? Ponyboy didn't know. But when he saw how much candy she was stuffing in her mouth, he had a feeling she was a good eater.

"Well," Darry started, knowing that Ponyboy wasn't going to answer the question. "I hope he follows my morals," he smiled. "However, me and him both know he ain't gonna end up as some roofer. He's gonna go to college, ain't that right, honey?"

Ponyboy didn't answer, and continued to stare at Lori as she continued going back and forth to the table to get more food. It seemed as if the large bag of potato chips weren't enough for her, so she'd gotten a plate and filled it entirely with junk. The young boy didn't know if Darry was oblivious or if he was choosing to be polite and just ignore it.

"Pony," Darry said quietly, tapping his brother on his shoulder. Ponyboy turned to Darry and then back to Lori, who looked down at him.

"Those overalls are real cute on you. Look at the little duckie," she cooed. "I wish I had a little brother who looked this cute."

The youngest Curtis glared up at the woman who was staring down at him. She smiled, and Ponyboy felt like throwing up when he saw the chocolate covering the woman's teeth. He didn't feel like being nice no more. Especially since she was calling him the worst word known to man: cute.

"Damn woman, are you pregnant? I ain't never seen a person eat so much in my life. What, you got cravings? Seriously, you are _fat_ ," Ponyboy told Lori loudly, who stopped chewing her food for a moment.

Darry's eyes widened; he was shocked at how his little brother had just spoke to the girl, especially as she was being so nice to him!

"Ponyboy!" Darry yelled. A few people turned their heads, including Sodapop, Sandy and Steve. Ponyboy winced. "How _dare_ you talk to anybody that way? Who gave you permission, huh?"

Ponyboy's cheeks turned red as he was scolded in-front of everybody. Some people pretended they weren't listening, though Ponyboy knew they just didn't want to get involved. Sandy wrapped her arms around Soda, who was staring at his brothers, being ready to go over there if he needed to.

Lori just swallowed heavily. "It's fine, Darrel," she said softly, approaching the table once again. Though instead of throwing more food on her plate, she took the unopened candy bars and placed them back on the plate that they came from. For the stuff that she had opened but hadn't finished eating, she threw in the trash. "I'm just gonna go sit over there, okay?" she said, pointing to her sister and stepfather, who was one of Darry's co-workers. She left the two brothers then.

The oldest Curtis glared down at Ponyboy and shook his head. By now people had gone back to whatever they were doing, including Steve and Sandy who were chatting about school, but Soda was still looking over, though he was pretending to listen to the conversation his girlfriend and best friend were having. "Guess you can go to your room and sit there for half an hour; think about what you've just done. You are _never_ horrible to grown-ups, Ponyboy."

"What about that guy at the park?" he challenged, trying to be smart.

Darry shook his head again. "He was bad and you know it," the man said, and then pointed to the house.

"C'mon Dar, it's a party. Do I really have to-"

"Ponyboy if I have to drag you in there you won't like it one bit, so do as I say right now or you'll really regret it!" Darry exploded. Everyone's heads snapped up then. Ponyboy's lip trembled and he quickly ran inside, running to his bedroom and jumping on his bed.

Darry watched his brother as he ran away, and then sighed. He hadn't meant to be that harsh. People looked away quickly when he looked at them, and he felt happy that he could be intimidating then; he didn't feel hot when people stared at him. Sodapop loped over to his big brother and gave him a questioning look.

"What was that about?" he asked, pointing to the house.

"Ponyboy said some horrible things to Lori about her weight. I told him to go to his room, but he wouldn't do as he was told," the man explained.

"You were a little loud though," Soda commented. Darry sighed at that.

"I know…" he responded softly.

Meanwhile, in Ponyboy and Soda's room, the youngest Curtis was bawling his eyes out. He wished he hadn't said that to Lori. He hadn't even meant it, not really: he just wanted to say something to get her off his case, but he'd crossed the line now. So now Darry hated him.

Now that he thought back to it, he did feel pretty lousy when he saw Lori put the candy bars back and throw her other food away. And now Darry was going to tell Soda, and Soda would probably hate him too. No, he couldn't have that. But he was scared to go out in-case Darry actually lost his temper and hit him. Though Darry had never struck him across the face before, he was sure that if Darry got riled up enough, he would. And Ponyboy wasn't going to risk that.

Then he remembered that really disgusting drink Two-Bit had put in the refrigerator a few days before. He didn't know what it was, but Darry had told him not to touch it. Apparently Two-Bit had mixed some drinks together, and had produced this strange drink that Darry really didn't want in the refrigerator.

When Ponyboy opened the refrigerator, he spotted the drink almost straight away. It was in a clear bottle, though even Pony knew that Two-Bit had just filled that drink up with anything he felt like during his drunken moment. And Ponyboy knew that drink nice. So he took it.

When the boy opened the bottle, he instantly felt sick. He didn't know what the heck it was, but it didn't have a pleasant scent, that was for sure. And he knew it wouldn't have a pleasant taste either, and the boy was sure it wouldn't agree with his stomach. So he took the bottle and returned to his bedroom after shutting the refrigerator.

As he was about to drink the substance however, the boy got a weird feeling. Why was he doing this? Just for attention? It was a pretty childish thing to do, Pony gathered. And he wasn't a little kid, no way. But when he stared out the window and saw couples dancing, and saw Lori approaching Darry, the boy knew something had to be done. So he drunk from that bottle…and it was horrible.

Something turned in Ponyboy's stomach, and his throat began burning. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed heavily. When the footsteps began approaching his door he wanted to get the bottle and hide it; his brothers would kill him for sure. But he was just too dizzy.

Ponyboy was sick, and before the figure running to him could catch him, he fell to the floor.

 **AN: There's Chapter 5! Poor Darry hasn't had the greatest birthday then :( Hopefully it will get better. Any suggestions for what happens next? How should his brothers react? Hope you all enjoyed :) Thanks to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far; I can't thank you all enough :D Also, R.I.P to David Bowie – you will be missed :(**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating as normal, but it was my birthday at the weekend :) I'm not Ponyboy's age anymore though :(…**

Ponyboy didn't feel very comfortable on whatever he was lying on. The boy slowly opened his eyes, and was greeted with none other than the faces of his two brothers. They both had concerned expressions on their faces, but when the boy exhaled deeply in tiredness, they smiled. Darry was the first to speak.

"Hey, baby, how you feelin'?" he asked gently, stroking the young boy's hair back. Ponyboy groaned.

"I got a headache, Darry. And my back hurts, and…where am I?" the boy questioned fearfully, taking in the curtains and the white sheets that the bed he was lying in had. His two older brothers sighed, and Ponyboy had a feeling he wouldn't take the news very well if they were both sighing.

"Ponyboy," Sodapop started softly. Ponyboy's breathing increased as he looked to his other brother. "You're in hospital."

The young greaser tried to stop himself from bawling as he knew it wouldn't look very tough, however as he pulled his blanket off slightly, he gasped.

"Where did my clothes go?" he asked Darry, noting that he was only wearing a thin gown (which had rather childish patterns on it). The boy remembered the last time he was in hospital he was allowed to keep his clothes on, but now they had been taken off him.

"Oh," Darry said. "Well, you were sick on them, so I took them off you and the nurses said to dress you in those." He pointed to the gown. "But it doesn't matter, right? Your other clothes will be cleaned up, and Two-Bit said he'd bring over some other stuff for you later."

Ponyboy pouted. "How long do I have to spend in here?" he asked.

"Just for tonight, and then we can go home tomorrow. They said you can have a bath; do you want one now?" Darry inquired.

Ponyboy blushed, and Soda caught it. "Pony, we're your brothers, you don't gotta be so shy around us, okay?"

The young boy nodded quickly, feeling embarrassed from the conversation itself. Darry chuckled. "We gave you a bath the other day. What's the deal?"

"I didn't want a bath the other day," Ponyboy pointed out, coughing slightly. "I don't like baths at all. Why can't I just shower like you two?"

"Because you're just a _baby_ ," Sodapop teased, pinching his baby brother's cheek. Ponyboy slapped his hand away. "And you need your big brothers to take care of you."

"Y'know, if I am a baby, why am I at school?" Ponyboy challenged, giggling slightly. Darry raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"Because you're a very smart baby. See, you can talk, and you know how to be mouthy with your brothers. Babies that talk back havta go to school in my book," Darry claimed, chuckling slightly. Ponyboy frowned.

"Well your book's full a'…never mind," he stopped when Darry and Soda's eyes widened. "I wasn't gonna say nothin' bad, I swear!"

"That was _not_ funny at all, Ponyboy," Darry growled. Ponyboy shrunk back. "If you'd have said what I thought you were going to say…"

"I was just gonna say 'lies'," the boy said sadly, swallowing in sorrow. Darry softened then, and Soda smiled.

"Alright," Darry smiled, kissing his baby brother's forehead. Ponyboy still had a slight fever, and the man didn't like it one bit. "That was so strange how you just got sick like that though." Ponyboy stiffened. "Now, Pony, you ain't gonna like this, but the doctor said he might give you a needle so he can see what's happened." The young boy's lip trembled.

"But I don't-" Darry cut Ponyboy off.

"I know you don't want a needle, but Ponyboy it's really worryin' me. Soda was heartbroken when he found you on the floor, and when he ran out and told me…Pony, I'm just sorry I didn't figure it out sooner."

Ponyboy gulped. Was it really worth drinking from that bottle to worry his brothers? Now he'd gone and made them all sad. But if he told them about what actually happened…they'd never forgive him; he was so sure of it.

"Is he awake?" a nurse asked, opening the curtain. She had dark skin with black curly hair, and dark glasses that were perched right on the end of her nose. Darry nodded his head, even though it was fairly obvious that Ponyboy was now awake. "Are you hungry?" Her attention was directed to Ponyboy.

Ponyboy was about to shake his head in response, but Darry answered for him. "He could with somethin' to eat; he's barely eaten all day," he stated. The nurse just shrugged but nodded all the same, leaving the room to get a tray for the youngest Curtis. Ponyboy frowned.

"I ain't hungry," he protested. It was quite true that his stomach was empty, but apparently he had been vomiting his guts up. He was worried that if he ate more, he'd be sick again; he hated being sick.

"We know," Sodapop said softly, rubbing his baby brother's knee that was covered by the blanket. "But you need to eat, honey. Maybe it'll help?"

The young greaser sighed, but he knew his brothers wouldn't let him get away with not eating. The thought of food however, reminded Ponyboy of Lori, and her sad face when he called her…well, when he insulted her weight. He didn't like thinking about what he said to her; it really was horrible.

"Darry," the young boy called quietly, gaining his older brother's attention. He swallowed before asking, "Was Lori okay?"

The oldest Curtis bit his lip, and Ponyboy thought this meant that his big brother was going to yell at him right there in the hospital. But Darry didn't, and instead sadly smiled at his baby brother. "Nah, everybody went home when Soda found you, baby. It was so scary, though; when he came runnin' out…I just left you in there, Pony. I should have at least checked on you, but I was just so selfish…"

Ponyboy felt really guilty then. Now he'd made his big brother think that the whole situation was his fault, but before the boy could tell his big brother that it wasn't his fault, the nurse came back in.

"Hope you like mashed potatoes and meat…I can't really tell what kinda meat that is, but it'll be good for ya…probably," she mumbled, placing the tray down on the table next to the boy's bed. "The gravy might be a little cold, but I'm sure that don't matter, right?"

"It's fine," Darry said quickly, wanting the nurse out; Ponyboy was very sick at the moment and couldn't have strangers crowding him – he could get scared. The nurse got the message and left, pushing out the cart with the other children's' meals on them.

The youngest Curtis went to reach for the tray, however frowned when Darry picked up the spoon. "Darry-" he felt rather insulted when Darry just fed him without even asking. He wanted to do it himself; he was capable of it.

When Ponyboy tried to swat his brother's hand away, Darry just gently pushed it back down and repeated the same process as before. Ponyboy felt his cheeks heat up even worse than before, when his fever was quite bad, but after sometime he felt slightly less embarrassed.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Darry asked, grinning slightly when Ponyboy finished the last of his dinner. Ponyboy shrugged, staring down at his lap. Darry shook his head, still grinning. "It's easier than feeding yourself, huh?"

Ponyboy shrugged again, and Sodapop chuckled. "You're just so adorable," he cooed at his baby brother, genuine this time, and kissed his nose. Ponyboy groaned, rubbing the tip of his nose where Sodapop had kissed him.

Seriously, this was the reason Ponyboy hated being sick. He wanted his big brothers' attention, but they were being a little too overbearing now. And this was a reason why Ponyboy learnt that making himself sick was not clever at all. But on the bright side…they were spending time with him and not with girls, so it was alright, he guessed.

Suddenly, somebody pulled back the long, white curtain, startling Ponyboy and confusing the older Curtis brothers. They were greeted with a child of about ten, with bright red cheeks and blonde curly hair. The kid was a boy, and Ponyboy scowled as he could smell something really bad on him; the kid must have had an accident or something.

"Hi," he bubbled, waving viciously. "I'm Mon-Mon! You wanna play with me?" he asked excitedly, pointing over to the rocking horse that was surrounded by building blocks and a table for drawing. "All of the other kids are asleep, but you're not. So, wanna play?"

The youngest Curtis scowled. "Mon-Mon?" he asked bitterly, glaring at the kid.

"Well, it's Monty-like Montgomery: my daddy's name, but I don't like my name, so everybody calls me Mon-Mon!" he explained, bouncing up and down.

Ponyboy felt like being sick when Mon-Mon sniffled loudly and blew his nose into his hand. The kid wiped his nose fiercely, and then quickly wiped his bright red hand on his gown. Ponyboy noticed that the gown matched his.

"No thanks," he replied, looking down at his lap. Mon-Mon sighed.

"Are you too sick to play? A lot of the kids can't play in the day because they're too sick. Seriously: everybody in this ward spends their time puking or sleeping. But _you're_ not doing either of those things!" the kid stomped his foot.

Darry thought it was time to step in then. "I'm very sorry, but he's too sick to get out of bed right now. Shouldn't you be in bed yourself?" he asked rather sternly. Mon-Mon shrugged.

"The parents are allowed to leave their kids if they want. Ma momma's out with her sister and won't be back 'til ten, and ma daddy's gone to get some dinner," Mon-Mon explained, rubbing his nose. Ponyboy lowered his eyebrows; this kid really was disgusting. "He should be back soon; he said we could play cards together. But until then I'm here by myself."

"Mon-Mon, get back in your bed!" a familiar voice shouted. Ponyboy looked up and noticed that it was the dark nurse again. She had her arms crossed and was shaking her head. Mon-Mon sighed.

"Okay Detty," the child muttered, grinning at Ponyboy and waving at him before running off to go back to his own bed.

Detty stepped into the small area that Ponyboy was in with a cart. The woman picked up the empty plate on the table next to Ponyboy's bed and placed it on the cart before stopping and looking at the youngest Curtis, cracking a smile at him.

"How long's he been buggin' ya for?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of Mon-Mon's bed. The boy had hold of two action figures and was making them battle each other, making fight noises and bashing the two figures together. Ponyboy smirked.

"Only a little bit. He asked me if I wanted ta' play with 'im." The boy might have said a few nasty comments about Mon-Mon to the nurse, since she didn't seem the type to get offended by bad comments, but Darry and Soda were with him so he knew it wouldn't have been wise.

Detty smiled, but this time it was a sad one. "Nobody ever wants to play with him," she sighed.

"I heard his mom won't be back 'til ten," Darry added in a hushed voice, since Mon-Mon was in the same room. Though he doubted he'd hear much since there were other families in the room with their sick children; some of the children were just talking while others were weeping loudly, and the families were comforting their ill kids.

"Ten? More like ten in the _mornin'_ , if she ain't hungover as usual. His dad just tells him that so he won't get upset; by the time it is ten, Mon-Mon's fast asleep and when he wakes up his dad tells him that his mom had to leave to get some sleep but she'll be back soon. I really do feel for the poor kid," Detty sighed, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

Ponyboy swallowed then, swivelling his eyes back over to Mon-Mon. By now his dad had come in, sitting by his son's bedside. The man pulled out a small box and handed it to the young boy, and Ponyboy was curious to see what was in it. It turned out to be another action figure, and Mon-Mon shrieked in delight when he realized what it was.

"His dad must have used any spare change he had to get him that; they're really havin' trouble affordin' the hospital bills; what with his wife goin' out and gettin' boozed up every night." Detty then said something real bad about the woman, which instantly made Sodapop's hands cover Ponyboy's ears, to which the younger greaser protested to.

"Horrible ain't it?" Darry sighed after Sodapop had removed his hands from Ponyboy's ears. "Poor kid."

"Doctor Jack said he prolly won't make it. The family just can't afford the medicine. I begged the hospital to give it to 'em just this once, but they ain't bothered at all. I'd try to help…but I got ma own family," she gulped, shaking her head and breathing out heavily before gripping the handle of the food cart and pushing it away quickly.

The youngest Curtis felt quite guilty then and looked over at Mon-Mon once more. The kid was laughing, and his father was laughing along with him, and Ponyboy realized that even though they were in a horrible situation, they were both still happy; they had each other.

Sodapop got up and closed the curtain over, blocking any view from the other children. "Steve and Two-Bit should be over soon. What do ya wanna do 'til then, baby?" the blonde asked.

"Nothin' really _to_ do," Ponyboy mumbled, playing with the blankets. He still remembered that Darry had told him that he might have to have a needle, and that worried him something.

"I told 'em to bring some of those books over; I'll read to you while you're goin' asleep," Darry smiled, taking his brother's hand and kissing his knuckle.

Ponyboy blushed, knowing what books Darry meant. "I'm too old for those books, Darry," he claimed, putting his head down. Darry lifted his little brother's chin so he was facing him.

"I don't think so," was all's he responded with before kissing his baby brother's hand again. Ponyboy rolled his eyes.

After a few minutes of coddling, the curtain was pulled open again, revealing Two-Bit and Steve. Two-Bit was grinning while Steve was rolling his eyes.

"Hey guys," Sodapop greeted, standing up and high-fiving Steve.

"Hey brothers," Two-Bit grinned, rushing over to Ponyboy and grabbing the smaller boy in a hug. Darry's eyes widened.

"Watch it, Two-Bit! He's still poorly," the man scolded, shoving the juvenile away from Ponyboy. Ponyboy sighed.

After greeting everybody (he even left their little area to greet other families and sick children), the man placed a bag next to Darry. Darry smiled gratefully, opening it to see, very surprisingly, that Steve and Two-Bit had packed everything Darry had told them to. They had actually both listened for once.

"Dal and Johnnycakes said they'll visit tomorrow since the hospital have this stupid rule that only two non-immediates can visit. I wanted ta tell 'em that we were your brothers too, but I think they keep a record or somethin'," Two-Bit shrugged. Steve smacked his friend across the head.

"Course they have records, stupid," he scowled, though he was only pretending to be mad.

"Thanks guys," Ponyboy said weakly, exhaling slightly. Steve and Two-Bit looked at each other then, as if they had just been reminded of something important. Darry rubbed his baby brother's head, however stopped when Two-Bit motioned for him to leave for a second. Steve motioned for Soda to leave.

"We'll be back soon, Pony," Two-Bit promised, closing the curtain over.

"What's this about?" Darry asked quietly. Two-Bit swallowed and shifted slightly.

"Uh…remember that bottle I put in your refrigerator the other day?" he questioned, laughing nervously. Darry frowned, but then remembered and nodded slowly.

"What about it?" the man asked dangerously.

"Well," Steve started. "When we into the kid's room to pack some stuff, the bottle was on the floor; all of the drink was gone. Was he in his and Soda's room when ya found 'im?"

"Yeah," Sodapop answered, as he had been the one who had found his baby brother lying unconscious on their bedroom floor.

"Then I guess it's kinda obvious he drank it then," Two-Bit said sadly, shaking his head.

It took Darry a full minute to process what had happened. When it did process, he wasn't happy one bit. The man snatched the curtains of his baby brother's bed place angrily stormed over to Ponyboy.

"Ponyboy," he hissed, sounding very angry. Ponyboy stared up at his big brother, wondering what had happened. "Did…did you drink Two-Bit's 'special' drink that I told you not to?"

Ponyboy gulped as tears welled up in his eyes; Darry knew what he'd done.

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed that chapter guys! Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I love hearing more suggestions. What do ya'll think should happen next? I'd love to hear! :)  
This chapter was based on reviews from Tiger, Ponygirlrunner25, and I've started off FrankElza's suggestion which will be expanded on :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
Date: Chapter Started March 27** **th** **2016\. Chapter Completed March 28** **th** **2016 (at 12:35 am XD)**

"I…I…" Ponyboy was at a loss for words. If he told Darry the truth, he'd be in big trouble. But if he lied, he'd also be in big trouble. There was no escape.

Darry towered over his little brother, and Ponyboy shrank back in fear.

"You answer me. _Now_!" the oldest Curtis shouted. Ponyboy gulped.

"Yes! I drank it, Darry! I'm sorry!" Ponyboy wailed, bursting into tears. Darry gasped and stood back, leaning against the wall. Ponyboy had never seen his brother act this way and grew worried.

"Darry…" Ponyboy whispered.

"No! How _dare_ you do that? Do you know how worried you made me and Soda! And now you're ill too. What were you thinking?!"

A few mumbles could be heard outside, presumably from the other sick children. Ponyboy felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment and fear.

"That was a very silly thing to do, Ponyboy," Sodapop scolded, shaking his head. Ponyboy turned his head down, letting his tears fall onto the blankets.

"I'm sorry," Ponyboy wept. This made Darry madder.

"You're _sorry_?!" he hollered. Ponyboy swallowed, trying to hide in the blankets. Darry pulled them away from him and the boy cried even more.

Darry ordered Ponyboy to look at him, but the young boy did not. The oldest Curtis growled and threw the blankets back at his brother, and stormed off after saying: "I can't even look at you."

Two-Bit and Steve looked at each other; Two-Bit biting his lip while Steve was shuffling nervously. Seeing as this was a family matter, the two decided to leave. They'd make sure to warn Dallas and Johnny to not visit the brothers just yet either.

"We're gonna go, Soda," Steve announced.

"Yeah," Two-Bit agreed. "Hope you get better, Pony."

The two were out like lighting.

Ponyboy didn't look at Sodapop as he was afraid his big brother would yell at him just like Darry had done moments earlier. But Soda was too kind to do that.

"You've upset Darry a lot, Ponyboy," the man explained. Ponyboy whined. "You've upset me to. Why did you make yourself sick? I suppose you deserve the needle now."

The youngest Curtis's face paled when Sodapop mentioned the dreaded needle. Now his brother wasn't even going to try and save him.

"Soda-"

"No. You were bad, and the doctor said you have to get a needle, so you're getting one," Sodapop said calmly.

Ponyboy's breathing quickened as Detty opened the curtains. "Doctor Michaels will be here with you shortly," she said, having no idea what was going on.

Sodapop just looked at the wall, ignoring his little brother for the time being. Darry was currently nowhere to be seen.

Ponyboy shifted in the sheets uncomfortably, dreading his impending fate. He couldn't have a needle; he hated them. The boy blamed his brothers for the fact that he was so dependent on them; if they'd just let him grow up then he surely wouldn't be so afraid of needles.

"I'm Doctor Michaels," a new voice declared. A middle-aged man with white scrubs entered through the curtains. He was carrying a needle, and Ponyboy wanted to bawl. "Hello, you must be Ponyboy. I'm just goin' to give you this needle, okay? So we can see how we can get you better."

"Sure, doctor. He's ready," Soda smiled, not looking at me. I whimpered as the doctor drew the needle and prepared it. I backed away cautiously.

"Now don't you worry, Ponyboy. It'll all be over soon," Doctor Michaels assured, walking towards the small boy.

Ponyboy blinked, letting the tears roll down his cheeks, as the doctor came and sat him up properly. Sodapop didn't even go over to comfort his baby brother; he just watched from the chair he was sitting in. Of course the teenager felt sympathy for his younger brother, but he wanted to keep a straight face to let his little brother know that what he'd done was very wrong.

"A lot of my patients like to close their eyes and count backwards from ten. It might help you relax. Why don't you try it?" the doctor suggested, the needle now ready.

Ponyboy let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut, tensing when Doctor Michaels took hold of his arm. However, just as the doctor was about to inject the needle, the end snapped off. "Oh dear," he sighed, bending down to pick up the end that had fallen off.

This was a great opportunity for the youngest Curtis. Ponyboy leapt off the bed, not bothered that his gown was very loose, and bolted through the ward. Detty had to swerve out the way with the food tray, and Mon-Mon looked up from the game he was playing with his father. The other kids all watched as Ponyboy made his escape while the parents all looked in either shock or sympathy.

Unfortunately, Ponyboy decided to turn his head at the wrong moment. He wanted to see if Soda was chasing after him, and ended up crashing right into Darry. The boy looked up in fear and jumped up again, but as he ran he slipped and fell, hitting his face on the floor.

Sodapop came running after his younger brother and Darry knelt down to pick the youngest up. Ponyboy was having a full on bawl right now, crying at the top of his lungs that he didn't want the needle.

"Give 'im here," Sodapop said. Darry handed Ponyboy over to Soda; he felt bad for his little brother now but knew Ponyboy was probably in no mood to see him, so he went to check on the doctor.

Ponyboy wriggled around in his brother's arm, having every intention to run away so he wouldn't have to face the dreaded needle, or his brothers. He just wanted to be free.

"Hey, hey, calm down now, little buddy," Sodapop soothed, brushing his brother's hair back. Ponyboy's struggles weakened; Soda didn't seem angry anymore. "I know you're scared, baby. Darry's gonna tell the doctor 'bout the drink, okay? But you still need the needle so they can find out if you need medicine."

"No, Soda," Ponyboy cried, trying to get down from his brother's hold. Sodapop rubbed the boy's back.

"C'mon now, good boy." He fixed Ponyboy into a position so that he was easier to carry and walked through the halls. Ponyboy squirmed in discomfort, trying his best to get down, but to no avail.

Darry nodded at Sodapop when the boy returned with their brother, and smiled at the two younger greasers. The tears returned as the doctor prepared a second needle, but there was no escape now.

"All done. Whenever you're ready, boys," Doctor Michaels smiled. Sodapop sat down on the bed, holding Ponyboy against his chest, as the doctor crouched in-front of them.

Ponyboy realized his brother was holding him so he couldn't run off again, and he felt so trapped. So betrayed. He tried to wrap his arms around Soda so the doctor couldn't get his arms, however Sodapop just gently pushed the off the small arms and kept them in place. The youngest Curtis whimpered.

"Alright, big boy. Close your eyes and count backwards from ten," the doctor ordered gently. Ponyboy rolled his eyes; clearly this doctor had no idea what his actual age was. However the feeling of annoyance was replaced with fear as Pony realized he'd have the needle any moment now.

"Just relax," Sodapop soothed, rubbing Ponyboy's neck. Ponyboy buried his face in his older brother's chest and counted backwards from ten in his head. He was about to jerk his arm away when the doctor began cleansing it, however Darry must have made his way over to the bed as a strong hand stopped it.

Ponyboy howled when the needle went in his arm. Sodapop kissed the boy's head and kept repeating on how much of a good boy he was, while Darry rubbed his auburn hair from the spot he was standing in.

"You did a great job, Ponyboy," Doctor Michaels praised. Ponyboy looked up from Soda's chest and realized it was all over. Darry smiled at his brother.

"Yeah, good boy," he grinned softly. Ponyboy's lip trembled. Hopefully Darry wasn't mad no more.

The boy slowly closed his eyes and leaned up against Soda. He'd just sleep for now; if he was gonna be dealt with then he'd rather have it done later than in this vulnerable state he was currently in.

Ponyboy just hoped his brothers wouldn't yell too much. Though surely he must have been forgiven, as Darry picked up one of the books and started reading it to him in a gentle voice that sent him right to sleep.

 **XXX**

Curly shivered as he walked through the streets of Tulsa. Tim had kicked him out, in the pouring rain, and he literally wasn't feeling too hot at the moment.

The only person at home would be Tim, and Curly was a little worried that his brother would kick him out again. But it wouldn't hurt to try; it could save him from freezing to death.

Okay, maybe it wasn't wise of him to argue with Tim. They'd been arguing over some girl they'd both noticed at The Dingo; she was hot and they both wanted her. But they wanted her for themselves, not for the other one.

Of course, Curly just had to mention the time Tim got chicken pox when the oldest Shepard was sixteen. Though it had no relevance, the boy knew it would embarrass his brother to no end. And he was very successful in shaming his brother.

So Tim kicked him out. And even though he laughed at the time, Curly now regretted doing it. Good thing Tim didn't have any embarrassing things to pin on Curly; he wouldn't just keep it between him and Curly – he'd blab it from Tula to freaking Houston!

"Back from your walk already, Curly?" Tim grinned as Curly tiptoed into the living room. The youngest Shepard brother groaned.

"Yup. Did you and Ang have a nice time while I was gone?"

It hurt Curly that his two siblings were close to each other and he was left out. Being the middle kid sucked.

"You cold?" Tim asked, ignoring his brother's question. Curly sighed.

"Well I have just been in the rain for two freakin' hours, Tim," the boy responded aggressively.

"Someone's tetchy. I was just askin'," Tim responded, grinning wickedly.

Curly swallowed; the Cheshire cat grin meant something was going on inside Tim's head.

"So what did you do?"

"Why don't you come sit down?" Tim offered, patting the space next to him. Curly shook his head. "Why not?"

"I like it over here," Curly argued.

"But I wanna show you something. You know how you said you wanted new clothes? Well, I found some good ones. Just for you, little brother," Tim smiled. Curly gave Tim a sketchy look; he'd never been referred to as little brother.

Curly's mouth dropped open when Tim showed him the clothes. "Tim! Those are overalls," he hissed.

"I know," Tim responded with no emotion. "What's wrong with them? Ponyboy wears them."

And that's when Curly gathered what was going on. Ponyboy…he got treated like a little kid. And Tim was planning on doing the same to Curly, wasn't he?

"Tim-"

"Let's get some stuff straight, Curly," Tim said angrily, standing up. "I don't like you bringing up stuff that you know upsets me. It hurts me. It embarrasses me. But one thing I've realized is that I've let you get all the breaks – never once have _I_ embarrassed _you_."

Curly backed up as his brother got closer to him. "Tim, I'll never embarrass you again. C'mon, I only said it in-front of Angela anyway. I've never done nothin' like that in-front of your friends." The boy felt his face flushing.

"You seem real jealous of Angela too, huh? A little birdie told me that big brother never spends quality time with little brother anyway, or at least that's how little brother feels. So why don't I make it up to you?" Tim teased.

"Please, Tim. I don't wanna wear those clothes," Curly begged. Tim raised his eyebrows.

"And I don't want you to embarrass me. Also, I want to make it up to you, like I've said. Give you all the attention I've given Angie over the years. This is just a starting point."

Curly sighed, looking at the overalls. Maybe he should've stayed out in the rain.

 **AN: I looked though the reviews of this story and saw that quite a few of them concerned Curly – I like Curly though, so I'd love to hear more ideas for him! Ponyboy's part based on a review by Ponygirlrunner25! Love seeing everybody's suggestions! Sorry it took so long to update.  
Happy (belated) Easter! :)**


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